A federal policy that distributes housing dollars based on the U.S. Census rather than tribal enrollment would hurt reservation communities, tribal leaders said on Monday.

The 2000 Census count was considered the most accurate in history. It showed a dramatic increase -- 26 percent -- in the American Indian and Alaska Native population both on and off the reservation.

But at a Congressional hearing held on the Navajo Nation, tribal leaders said linking federal dollars to the Census was unfair because more money would go to areas where people who identified
themselves as Indian may not be tribally-enrolled.

They also pointed out that the Census, for the first time, allowed people to claim multiple racial heritages. Going by this set of figures, the Native population grew by 110 percent.

But that doesn't mean reservation communities, where overcrowding
and inadequate infrastructure are prevalent, will see that
large of an increase in housing funds, tribal leaders testified.
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said his tribe would lose
$5.7 million because the Census showed only 180,000 Navajos even though
the tribe has about 310,000 enrolled members.

The policy, Shirley warned,
"will have a devastating impact by reducing funding allocations for
Indian housing on many reservations, severely hurting Native Nations."

Concerns were echoed by Chad Smith, principal chief of the
Cherokee Nation, the second largest tribe in the country based on
an enrollment of about 240,000.
"This use of census information should be used as long as it approximates
citizenship," he told lawmakers.

"Many people self-identify with a
certain tribe but are not actually members of that tribe. Therefore, use of this data
instead of tribal enrollment data does not provide accurate information for determining
the funding needs of a tribe," added Kathleen Kitcheyen, chairwoman of
the San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona.

The tribes called on the House Financial Services subcommittee on
housing and community opportunity to look into the matter.
At the urging of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), whose district
includes parts of the Navajo, San Carlos Apache and White Mountain
Apache reservations, the panel held its first
ever hearing in Tuba City, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation yesterday.

"The result [of the hearing] will mean greater
financial, insurance and mortgage programs and improved infrastructure
development for the Native American people," Renzi said.

The policy came about through a negotiated rulemaking committee
between tribes and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Although tribes expressed concern about using the Census data,
HUD officials decided to use the figures to determine
distribution of the Indian Housing Block Grant Program,
a $647 million pot of funds.

Smith argued that there is some merit in using data of single-
and mixed-race Indians due to undercounting by U.S. Census Bureau.
"We support any system that is verifiable and reliable that best reflects
the number of citizens of federally recognized tribes and Alaska Natives
for specific formula areas," he testified.

Russell Sossamon, chairman of the National American Indian Housing
Council, also called for more clarity. He has already asked
housing subcommittee for a hearing on the issue.

"Some believe [the policy] has generally
shifted funds from the more sparsely populated tribal reservation-based areas to areas which, while less remote,
have greater population, and that this is an inequitable shift in the program,"
he told the lawmakers.

Under the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act,
tribes can supply their own census numbers to HUD. The result has
helped some tribes triple their share of housing funds, according
to published reports. But the process is lengthy and not all tribes
are able to complete it.

Historically, American Indians and Alaska Natives on and off reservations have been the most
undercounted population. In 1990, some 12.2 percent of reservation residents were left off the Census.
The 2000 Census showed a net undercount of 4.74 percent for on-reservation
Indians.

"Whether the conflict is over what is the best policy and which data best represents tribal
populations, the simple fact is that our tribal population was not accurately counted and
represented in the 2000 Census," said Wayne Taylor Jr., chairman of
the Hopi Tribe of Arizona, at the hearing.
"The end result will be the loss of considerable housing
funds to the Hopi Tribe at the expense of more funding to those tribes that benefit from
the multi-race formula."